3 Sleep Beliefs—Explained

Find out which ideas help you get more zzz's—and which don't

Whether you have a hard time re-setting your clock after a weekend of late mornings or you have chronic problems falling asleep, here's the real story behind three common sleep beliefs.

1) A glass of warm milk will help you fall asleep faster.

Maybe. But it's most likely due to the soothing comfort of warm milk, rather than the actual ingredients. Milk does contain tryptophan, an amino acid believed to help induce sleep, but there's no hard data to suggest that it really works, says Lawrence Epstein, MD, chief medical officer of the Sleep HealthCenters, an instructor at Harvard Medical School and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

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2) Watching TV before bed is interfering with your sleep.

Good chance. The light is stimulating, and often what you're watching is, too. "Many of my patients watch the news before bed, and then, go figure, have very disturbed sleep," says Donna Arand, PhD, clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio. If you must watch TV, try something more relaxing—like a nature show—instead.

3) Earplugs are the only things that block out noise.

False. Earplugs can be uncomfortable and white-noise machines often work better, says Kathryn Lee, RN, PhD, professor and associate dean for research at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing. These machines mask distracting sounds, such as cars zooming by outside, in a soothing way. ($20 and up; amazon.com)

Tip: When sheep counting fails.

Just get up! Lying in bed and focusing on the fact that you're not sleeping will make it worse. The key: distracting yourself for a few minutes with an easy task.Get the real story behind three common sleep beliefs.